kadioguy
Key Member
- Joined
- Mar 4, 2017
- Member Type
- Student or Learner
- Native Language
- Chinese
- Home Country
- Taiwan
- Current Location
- Taiwan
a. Come on, it's been way too long since we've gone to the mountains. The weather is going to be perfect.
b. You've been working every weekend since you started that new job.
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1. Why is the perfect aspect used in "since we've gone to the mountains" while the past tense is used in "since you started that new job"?
2. What if we switch their tenses? Would they still be natural?
FYI:
Gemini's answer
ChatGpt's answer
Claude's answer
---
Having read their answers, I'll try to put together an integrated answer below. What do you think?
Q1:
a.
The present perfect tense ("we've gone") is used here because it refers to an action that happened at some unspecified point in the past and continues to have relevance to the present.
The speaker is emphasizing that the time since they last went to the mountains extends up to the present moment. The perfect aspect connects the past action (going to the mountains) to the present situation (they still haven't gone to the mountains).
The sentence emphasizes the current state of not having been to the mountains for a long time and suggests the possibility or desire to go to the mountains again in the future.
b.
The simple past tense ("started") is used here because it refers to a specific, completed action in the past: the person started a new job at a particular point in time. This action is seen as completed and doesn't directly connect to the present in the same way as the first sentence.
The speaker is focusing on the continuous action of working every weekend that began when the listener started the new job. The past tense ("started") simply indicates the time when this continuous action began.
The simple past in the the sentence pinpoints the exact moment when the person began working weekends, which is a definite point in the past. This specific event triggered the ongoing situation of working every weekend, which is expressed using the present perfect continuous ("have been working").
Q2:
a. "It's been way too long since we went to the mountains." (Using simple past instead of present perfect)
This version is perfectly natural and commonly used. It slightly shifts the focus to the last specific instance of going to the mountains, rather than emphasizing the continuous state of not having gone.
You're pinpointing a specific moment in the past when you last went to the mountains, and the emphasis is on the gap of time from that point to the present.
Both versions are acceptable and convey similar meanings, with a subtle difference in emphasis.
b. "You've been working every weekend since you've started that new job." (Using present perfect instead of simple past)
This version is less common and can sound slightly awkward to many native English speakers. It's not strictly incorrect, but it's not the preferred form for a few reasons:
(1) Using the present perfect for both clauses creates a sense of redundancy.
(2) The act of starting a job is typically viewed as a single, completed action in the past, making the simple past more appropriate.
(3) The present perfect implies a continued relevance or potential repetition of starting the job, which doesn't align with the usual understanding of job commencement.
The perfect aspect implies that the action of starting the job is somehow still relevant to the present, which feels slightly redundant because the job starting is typically considered a specific, past event.
This phrasing would suggest that the action of starting the job is ongoing in its influence, which could work if you're emphasizing that the job’s start is still fresh or impacting the present. However, since the job starting is a fixed point in time, the simple past is more common in this context.
b. You've been working every weekend since you started that new job.
1. Why is the perfect aspect used in "since we've gone to the mountains" while the past tense is used in "since you started that new job"?
2. What if we switch their tenses? Would they still be natural?
FYI:
Gemini's answer
ChatGpt's answer
Claude's answer
---
Having read their answers, I'll try to put together an integrated answer below. What do you think?
Q1:
a.
The present perfect tense ("we've gone") is used here because it refers to an action that happened at some unspecified point in the past and continues to have relevance to the present.
The speaker is emphasizing that the time since they last went to the mountains extends up to the present moment. The perfect aspect connects the past action (going to the mountains) to the present situation (they still haven't gone to the mountains).
The sentence emphasizes the current state of not having been to the mountains for a long time and suggests the possibility or desire to go to the mountains again in the future.
b.
The simple past tense ("started") is used here because it refers to a specific, completed action in the past: the person started a new job at a particular point in time. This action is seen as completed and doesn't directly connect to the present in the same way as the first sentence.
The speaker is focusing on the continuous action of working every weekend that began when the listener started the new job. The past tense ("started") simply indicates the time when this continuous action began.
The simple past in the the sentence pinpoints the exact moment when the person began working weekends, which is a definite point in the past. This specific event triggered the ongoing situation of working every weekend, which is expressed using the present perfect continuous ("have been working").
Q2:
a. "It's been way too long since we went to the mountains." (Using simple past instead of present perfect)
This version is perfectly natural and commonly used. It slightly shifts the focus to the last specific instance of going to the mountains, rather than emphasizing the continuous state of not having gone.
You're pinpointing a specific moment in the past when you last went to the mountains, and the emphasis is on the gap of time from that point to the present.
Both versions are acceptable and convey similar meanings, with a subtle difference in emphasis.
b. "You've been working every weekend since you've started that new job." (Using present perfect instead of simple past)
This version is less common and can sound slightly awkward to many native English speakers. It's not strictly incorrect, but it's not the preferred form for a few reasons:
(1) Using the present perfect for both clauses creates a sense of redundancy.
(2) The act of starting a job is typically viewed as a single, completed action in the past, making the simple past more appropriate.
(3) The present perfect implies a continued relevance or potential repetition of starting the job, which doesn't align with the usual understanding of job commencement.
The perfect aspect implies that the action of starting the job is somehow still relevant to the present, which feels slightly redundant because the job starting is typically considered a specific, past event.
This phrasing would suggest that the action of starting the job is ongoing in its influence, which could work if you're emphasizing that the job’s start is still fresh or impacting the present. However, since the job starting is a fixed point in time, the simple past is more common in this context.
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